Soon it will be Independence Day!

One of the musicians in residence in my succulent garden has been very busy conducting dress rehearsals with the cast of characters, who arrived this past Sunday, to perform with him on Independence Day, the Fourth of July, which is this coming Thursday!

RAIN or SHINE Dining for my Wild Bird Visitors!

It has been one week since Juan V and I last worked together in my garden, which was the day after I had devised a way to hang my CB feeder in a place where the kiwi vine's foliage would be protected from serving as a placemat (which was a "story" I included when I "introduced" the CB feeder here on Blogger).

The collage posted atop today's entry features a close-up of my CB feeder to the left, and, on the right it features an aerial view (taken by Juan V) of how it appeared in its new locale the last time Juan V was here.

In an entry published on June 12th 2013 (the day after Juan V left), I "reported" — here on Blogger — on my scenario of the rehanging of the CB feeder, and I concluded that entry by stating, "stay tuned, as there is still a follow-up "story" surrounding this which I will post within a week's time," and today I am here to tell you of the follow-up story as promised!

To Cam, With Love

No, Cam, I did not get the chairs pictured above,

that you enjoy noshing under ,

because they match the color of your beak! 

While I confess, Cam, that I do put saucers filled with your favorite seeds under them, so that your food won't get soggy in the rain, I did not, did not, did not, have the color of your beak in mind when I got the chairs!

Or did I? After all, I've procured many types of feeders in hopes of accommodating your needs ever since you made your first visit (that I am aware of) to my urban (NYC) garden this past July!

It was love at first sight on my part as you undoubtedly know, Cam; after all, I gave you a one woman show, by having you star in my bird-themed virtual story, Words in my Beak, and I didn't even make you audition!

Moreover, I've agreed to help you by co-authioring your book series; Words In Our Beak!

Do you know how I love hearing your early morning arias when you arrive to nosh! And do you know how I love when you return at the cocktail hour to vocalize your reprise?

Sorry Bert, "Doin' The Pigeon" is NOT for me!

This past Friday (June 14th) morning when I was making my morning coffee, a lone pigeon took it upon himself/herself to watch my every move from a tree in a neighbor's yard; and he/she even turned his/her head completely around to do so, as evidenced by the picture atop today's blog entry.

Now, I don't mind birds watching me; after all, I watch them on a number of occasions. However, I wasn't too happy to discover a pigeon so near to my rooftop garden, and, I definitely did not want him/her to come into my place!

TWO Birds AND Bad Feather Days (a clarification)

The bluejay pictured here is not having a bad feather day! Rather, he has just spent a significant amount of time in today's pouring rain — noshing from a suet feeder that I have in my garden — and, therefore, had no chance to blow dry his/her feathers!

Visiting Birds & the "CB" Feeder (FOLLOW-UP)

Two weeks ago, May 29th 2013, here on Blogger, I posted an entry about a bird feeder (which I call a CB feeder and is pictured above) that I had procured to allow my smaller visiting birds like house finches, as well as Cam and Mac (the cardinal couple who visit my garden on occasion) to be able to nosh in peace, as the mourning doves that frequent my rooftop garden often eat all the food!

Mistaken Identity No. 2

The collage (made by yours truly) posted atop today's blog entry features images of a downy woodpecker when he/she visited my urban (NYC) garden this past April.

This woodpecker (or his/hers identical twin) had initally visited me in November of 2012, and at that time I did some research to determine his/her identity. 

After querying a number of sources with photo-ops, I made the determination that my friend was a Hairy Woodpecker!

For my Ajuga & Her "unacknowledged" Friends

The other day, these two mourning doves, sitting atop the container that "houses" my Actinida kolomikta and Actimida (Kiwi Vines), were having a heart to heart convo. They were discussing how they felt about the fact that unlike "some birds" that visit my garden, they do not have a baseball team named for them!

AN OPEN LETTER re YOUNG MOURNING DOVES

MOURNING DOVE EYES A SPARROW

The other day when I was editing images in my Aperture Library, I came across the image (posted above), and seeing it along with receiving the following information in TLLG's Facebook newsfeed...

Mourning Dove young may be leaving the nest. 

Here's what to look for:

- Wing and breast feathers tipped with light buff color

- Slightly shorter tail

- No dark spot behind eye like the adults have

Let us know when you see young Mourning Doves in your yard.

...has prompted me to write today's entry here on Blogger, and allow it to serve as an open letter to Wild Birds Unlimited (whom I'll refer to as WBU in this narrative). WBU is the organization who posted the text which I've highlighted in orange.

Meanwhile, I'd like you to know, dear reader, for purposes of orientation re this entry, that the aforementioned photograph was taken on May 29th 2013 and evidently WBU posted their content on May 27th 2013.

And without further ado, here is my letter to WBU: